Photos and Memories
by trytofindme
Summary: Ever wondered how Donald Blye knew Owen Granger? Kensi finds out.


Ever wonder why Donald Blye told the newspaper reporter, Rob Stevens, to go to Owen Granger in DC.

A lot of fanfic writers make the Assistant Director out to be a bit on the evil side. And I agree he probably is a little more bad than good but occassionally there is a good side that needs to be shown.

* * *

It had taken a while but everything was placed in the book. Items he hadn't looked at in over a decade, some even longer. Letters, photos with notations under them. Written details about what he remembered his friend feeling at the time. Memories of another time and place. Placing it in a bag, he carried it carefully to his trip to the NCIS OSP. Someone was getting a surprise today, one that she probably would enjoy. It wouldn't make up for what had happened but it would hopefully go some way.

.

Walking into the building, it amazed him that despite all the hustle and bustle in the building, it was a rather quiet place. Of all branches that he visited, and turned upside down while there, this was his favourite. It didn't seem to fluster so much at his attention, that might have had something to do with the people that were there. While other branches panicked, this branch seemed to acknowledge his presence before turning to what had to be done. His package in his possession. He stopped at the operations manager, Henrietta Lange's desk first.

"Owen, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Hetty asked looking over her tea cup.

"I am in town and I have something to discuss with Agent Blye," Assistant Director Granger said as he sat down at the antique desk.

"Tea?" It was offered as a way to get him to open up.

"No thank you, Hetty." Politely declined, this maybe harder to get the information but a new approach could always work.

"You are not going to be accusing her of anything this time, are you?" Hetty was more than a little direct after the events of nearly a year ago.

"No, this is a little more personal Hetty. Is there someplace onsite that will give us privacy?"

"There is Nate's old office, you could use that. May I ask what it is about?" Hetty was curious. "You don't have to tell me but if it goes wrong, I need to know what I have to fix this time."

"I have prepared this for her," Owen lifted the bag, "I thought that it is something that will help her understand her father, from a friend's point of view."

"You knew Kensi's father, for how long?" Hetty wasn't really surprised.

"When you are both military brats," was all he said.

"That long? I think Kensi will appreciate this," Hetty smiled and produced something from her desk, "you may want a box of tissues."

"Thank you," accepting the box and standing, "she knows where the office is?"

"They all know where it is, so they could avoid it."

"I take it he was a shrink." With that Owen Granger walked calmly over to the bullpen. He could see the two male agents and LAPD Detective but not Agent Blye.

"Assistant Director Granger, what can we do for you today?" Callen asked as team leader.

"I was after Agent Blye, where is she?"

"Why are you," Deeks question was stopped as Kensi walked in with her takeaway breakfast. Dropping her stuff at her desk, not really paying attention to who was there.

"Agent Blye nice of you to join us."

"Assistant Director Granger," Kensi plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Hetty has offered us the use of Nate's office," Owen told them.

"We aren't all going to fit in Nate's office easily," Callen said as he stood up. "I get the comfy chair."

"What? No fair," Deeks started to whine.

"You are not sitting beside me Deeks," Sam instructed as he started to walk out of the bullpen.

"The only persons in there will be Agent Blye and myself, it is a personal matter and if Agent Blye wishes for you to know afterwards she will tell you," Owen told the team, stopping the males in their tracks.

"Kensi, do you want any of us in there with you?" Deeks asked looking at his partner carefully.

"No. It will be fine," Kensi smiled.

"Fern."

"If I need you, I will come running, ok Deeks," Kensi's voice made it sound like a promise.

"I'll hold you to that," Sam answered for the team.

.

Kensi led the Assistant Director upstairs to Nate's old office in silence. The remaining team members just watched cautiously.

"Any ideas what it could be?" Callen asked.

"Donuts," Deeks answered as he grabbed his keys.

"That's not the answer we were looking for," Sam looked at Deeks. Donuts could not be the answer.

"No but Kensi may want a couple after her time with you know who, so I am getting them now."

"Good reasoning, bring us back some too," Callen added, "We are going to ask Hetty."

"No you are not Mr Callen, it is a personal matter for Miss Blye. All I can ask is that you be supportive and understanding once she returns," Hetty said as she appeared in the bullpen. "I suggest that you wait here for her and complete your overdue reports. Mr Deeks better get her favourites."

.

"You can relax Agent Blye, this is a personal meeting not a professional one," Owen Granger said as he shut the door behind them. Kensi sat in the comfy chair that was previously used by Nate. Owen sat in the chair opposite, placing the tissue box on the desk before holding out the bag to Kensi. "This is for you."

"What for?" Kensi was confused but accepted the bag. Looking inside she found a large scrap book and pulled it out of the bag. "What is this?"

"Open it." Owen instructed. Opening it, Kensi was visually assaulted but the words, Donald Blye.

"This is about my father?" Kensi asked.

"You remember on the tape of the newspaper reporter Rob Stevens that Peter Clairmont killed, the one with your father's warning call, telling him to disappear and contact me?" Kensi looked up at him waiting for him to continue. "I never told you how your father and I knew each other, so I went through my things, looking for things that you could have as part of your memories of your father. It took a little while for me to put all of this together."

"When did you meet him?"

"Your father and I were both marine brats when we met in 1962. I was ten and your dad was eight. Our fathers had just been put into the same unit and we ended up living beside each other. Your dad had his ninth birthday about a month after they moved in. I have written all the names that were there underneath. I know that your grandparents died before you were born but I don't know if you ever had any photo's of them,"

"I haven't seen any pictures, dad's house burned down in the late seventies, he lost all his photos of them," Kensi's eyes were starting to fill with tears, seeing what her dad's parents looked like finally.

"There are a few more shots of our childhood and teenage years, labelled, your dad was a tearaway at that time. We stole a couple of cars to race around the base housing in. That was a major hiding when our dads got home off deployment." Owen smiled at the memory, "We stole candy from the local shops as well. Carved our names in concrete. Once a couple of the senior people on base realized what a bunch of tearaways we were, they started organising things like camping, hunting and fishing, keeping us out of trouble."

"So my dad was a trouble maker?" Kensi asked as she turned the pages slowly.

"We both were," Owen confirmed. "When it came time to make a decision as to what we each wanted to be, he chose to become a marine like his dad, your granddad was thrilled that he had been accepted and about a year into his training, he specialised in sniper training. He was a natural with a gun, much like you. I went and studied at the local police academy after five years of that I changed to become an agent. Your father was supportive of me doing this more so than my own father who wanted me to become a marine, I was the first of my family not to be in the armed forces in six generations. Your father talked to my father and brought him around, having him see that even though I wasn't military, I was still serving my country. Your father insisted that I continue to speak and write letters to my parents regardless of the fact that the choice I made, made them unhappy to begin with after a while they accepted my decision."

"My father saved your family relationships," Kensi looked at him.

"Your father was best man at my wedding, I would have been best man at his but I was undercover in Europe at the time, so he had one of his marine buddies step up. I did give your father a bestman speech, I kept a copy of it so I could read it at his retirement party or his sixtieth. I remember the day I introduced him to your mum, your mum was the cousin of my now exwife, they met when she was to be the maid of honour and him, my best man. He waited another three years to start dating her properly and then six months after that he asked her to marry him, he had some more active service that he needed to complete and didn't think it was fair that they married so quickly, but once his service was complete he was down on his knees asking for her hand." Owen thought carefully, "I remember him writing to me and telling me, that she was it for him, I have put that letter in there for you amongst others."

"Letters?" Kensi squeaked, trying to hold onto her emotions.

"Letters in his handwriting and a few important announcements like a wedding invitation, a birth notice." Kensi's head lifted straight up to look at the person opposite her. "He ripped it out of the paper and posted it to me, along with a letter and couple of photos. He was a very proud daddy."

"Of me," Kensi started to turn the pages quickly looking for the birth notice, tears starting to run down her face.

"Yes, you," Owen confirmed as he pressed some tissues that he quickly removed, into her hand. "The joy you brought to him and your mother was amazing. When you were old enough to walk and he was home, you followed him everywhere."

"I was a daddy's girl," Kensi had to keep mopping up her tears.

"That you were. This book is for you Kensi. I made sure that I kept copies for you incase anything happens to this. Take it home and go over it in your own time, it will be hard but you don't need to do it all at once." Owen's voice was firm, "I will answer any questions that you have. I have also made sure there is a pocket for the sniper journal that you already have so that you can keep it all together."

"Where did you get all this?" Kensi whispered.

"I have kept it all as memories of my best friend from childhood, our lives took us in different directions but he was very important to me."

"Did I ever meet you as a child?" Kensi looked at him.

"You were about two, nearly three the last time I saw you at a gathering. There are some photos of it that I have put in there. I was then sent overseas by the CIA for the remainder of the cold war. We kept in contact, letters and phone calls." Owen confirmed. "I didn't give you this to make you upset, I wanted you to remember the man he was. Yes he had a secret side, just like you but he was still your dad and my best friend."

"Thank you, I will treasure this," Kensi said honestly. This was an amazing gift, one she never expected especially from the person infront of her.

"If you have more questions about him, I'll tell you what I remember," Owen promised, "Now I have a flight to Hawaii to deal with the office there so I must go. And I suspect your team might be wondering about you right now."

"Do you ever wonder what he would be like now?" Kensi asked as the door was opened. The man in the doorway turned back to look at her.

"He would be the same man that he was back then, only I think he may have gotten some grey hair with the job that you do. We would be catching up at the local base or off base bar or having some beers over the grill." With that he left.

.

Deeks had arrived back with the donuts for the team, one for each of them and three for Kensi. They were all sitting at their desks, waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for Granger to come down the stairs and tell them what was going on. Waiting for Kensi to return to the safety of the team and the bullpen.

Granger walked down the stairs and to Hetty's desk to say something before leaving, their eyes followed him till he was out of sight. Kensi was a little slower about five minutes after Granger had gone she came down the stairs slowly carrying a bag. When she got to her desk and saw the box of donuts. There was a high pitched squeak and the team surrounded her. Enveloping her into their fold. Deeks guided her to the couch, Callen grabbed the donuts and coffee for her while Sam took the bag from her grasp.

"It's ok to eat your feelings Fern," Deeks whispered as Callen tried to press a donut into her hands.

"Kensi, may I have a look?" Sam asked watching for her confirmation. Once she had nodded her head, Sam pulled out the book and opened it. "This is photos and stuff of your dad, how did Granger get it?"

"He knew him," Kensi was muffled slightly by the donut that Callen was trying to press her to eat.

"Miss Blye's father and Mr Granger knew each other growing up. He told me so I had an idea as to what the fallout might be after last time." Hetty explained. "Now Miss Blye, do you think you need the rest of the day off, this has been a big emotional shock for you."

"Granger put all this together for you Kens?" Sam asked as he kept looking through the book, "this is amazing, photos, letters, your birth notice, notes on what he remembered your dad feeling. The letters, are they your dad's?"

"Yes, his handwriting. He put it together for me," Kensi finally succumb to the donut being forced on her.

"Baby Kensi?" Deeks asked. Callen moved to see the book held by Sam

"She sure was a cutie," Sam confirmed.

"Best man speech?" Callen asked

"My dad was his best man, but Owen couldn't be dad's as he was working in some undisclosed location, but he wrote one anyway," Kensi took another bite of donut. "I even met him but I was too young to remember."

"There's a lot in here, Kensi, he took his time," Callen felt a little envious inside, Kensi had a bit more of her dad to remember him by.

"Dear Owen, I have the best news, I am going to be a father. Julia found out today that we are pregnant. I don't care if it is a boy or girl, as long as they are healthy. When you get back we will have to have a beer over this. We are holding off telling everyone else so that you get a chance to get the news first. We have been talking about names and stuff for the nursery to figure out what is needed. There is a guy that does handcrafted woodwork and I am thinking about getting a rocking horse for the baby already. I am so excited about this." Sam read from one of the letters. "There's something underneath. When I called your dad after receiving this letter he was still dancing on the moon with the news, he couldn't wait for you to be born."

"This is the nicest thing that I have seen from Granger," Callen announced to the team.


End file.
